The Marine Museum at Fall River is a cultural gem and contains a wealth of Fall River Maritime History especially Steam Ship and Titanic memorabilia. Discover the art, books, models and many treasures the Marine Museum holds. This is a must see
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The Marine Museum at Fall River is a cultural gem and contains a wealth of Fall River Maritime History especially Steam Ship and Titanic memorabilia. Discover the art, books, models and many treasures the Marine Museum holds. This is a must see resource for landlubbers and mariners alike.

Carol Gafford is a public librarian, family historian, amateur archivist and book savior. She is currently the youth services/outreach librarian at the Swansea Public Library and volunteers for several museum and historical societies including the Marine Museum at Fall River, the Swansea Historical Society and the Bristol Historical and Preservation society. She is the editor of Past Times, the Massachusetts Society of Genealogists and is always looking for a new project to take on.

WILMINGTON — Gregory Campbell returned to the ice quickly from his broken leg in last spring’s playoffs.

The matter of his game returning to him has taken longer.

The fourth-line center is the only Boston skater without a point this season, and Campbell — usually a fluid skater — has been noticeably slower in the first 12 games of the season. He hasn’t played up to the high standards he holds himself up to.

“I’ve actually felt that my body is getting better the last couple games,” he said Friday after taking part in an optional practice at Ristuccia Arena. “Having said that, I’m still not getting the results that I want. I feel like I could be doing a lot more to help the team and help my line specifically. I keep working out and stay positive and try to do my part to get better every day.

“My goal is to contribute night in and night out for this team and do my job, play my role, and be a guy that can be relied on any given night. And like I said, I’m still not where I want to be.”

Campbell got a plate and six screws inserted just above his broken right fibula in June. He’s been wearing padding over the area on his skate. Just eight weeks after returning to the ice, he's not back to himself.

All of Campbell’s numbers are down this year. He’s averaging about two minutes of ice time less per game (11:50) and has just eight shots on goal. Usually in the 50 percent range, he’s winning just 41.9 percent of his faceoffs.

In turn the effectiveness of the Merlot line has been reduced. Campbell isn’t the fastest skater when he’s healthy, but he’s sneaky quick and can wreak havoc on the forecheck. He’s adept at tipping pucks away from power-play point men.

It’s been difficult to get back to being that pesky player with a leg that’s uncooperative.

“It’s frustrating to not be able to — I have high expectations of myself,” Campbell said. “I know some people might see me as a fourth-line player, but I expect more of myself and I expect myself to contribute like I did in the playoffs last year on a daily basis.

“Frustration isn’t going to help anything. It’s about keeping my nose to the grindstone and then pushing through this. Frustration builds negative energy and then that weighs you down even more. It’s just about pushing through this.”

Campbell had a strong regular season last year, going 4-9—13 in playing all 48 games, averaging 13:42 of ice time.

As a fourth-liner, his minutes dipped in the playoffs but his production rose; he was 3-4—7 in 15 games, playing a key role on a strong penalty kill as well.

When the Bruins’ Merlot line is at its best, it’s been on top of opponents, forechecking defensemen and forcing turnovers that can quickly change the momentum of a game.

The 2011 Vancouver Canucks can speak to that. So can John Tortorella, who was fired as Rangers coach last May a week after the Boston fourth line nearly single-handedly beat New York in Game 3 of the conference semifinals. That was the game NBC commentator Pierre McGuire said the Merlot line was “like a bad rash — they’re on you all the time and won’t go away.”

With Campbell a step behind, the line hasn’t been rubbing teams the wrong way as much this year.

“(Skating) is part of my game, it’s part of our game as a line, wearing teams down and getting on teams on the forecheck. We’re not doing that effectively, so it’s something that I want to focus on,” Campbell said, adding he doesn’t want to use the leg as an excuse.

Chris Kelly came back from his broken tibia last April and took about two months to find his game. Campbell’s injury is closer to the foot, so it could take longer to find his rhythm.

“You look at guys, Kelly broken leg, Campbell broken leg — those kind of injuries take a while to get back from,” coach Claude Julien said.